Deep Sojourner

On the road safety tips can help to protect your fleet of drivers no matter where they are or what they are hauling. No matter if yours is a corporate fleet or a trucking fleet, any vehicle that hits the road may be involved in an accident or may become the victim of another bad driver on the road with them. You can prevent the problems by just knowing a few safety tips related to driving on the road. Share these with your team. Give your team gasoline cards, too, as a way of ensuring they can remain safe.

Focus on the driver first. Be sure that the driver is awake, well rested and ready to perform as they need to do so. The good news is that this one, simple thing can make the biggest difference in the overall safety of every driver in your team.

Next, focus on distractions. On the road, there are numerous distractions you cannot control. For this reason, focus on those you can control. Keep cell phones and pagers out of the reach of the driver. Make it a rule that drivers do not use these communications tools while driving.

Slower is better. While some of your drivers may be more interested in getting home sooner, it is imperative to keep drivers operating at a safe speed rather than at faster speeds to cut corners. Speed kills and it puts drivers at risk of hurting themselves or others. Focus on break-time, too. When your drivers do take breaks, make sure that they are making good decisions. There is no benefit to drinking a glass of wine or having a beer at the trucking stop.

Be sure your team is familiar with the route before they head out. This can be an important tip for those long drives or when the driver is unfamiliar with the area. By being more confident in where they are going, the driver is less likely to cause an accident.

Prepare the vehicle, too. This is one way that gasoline cards can help your fleet. Your driver will want to fill up before leaving the location they are familiar with.

It is also important that you understand that maintenance of the vehicle is critical. By using the right type of fleet cards, your cars can be maintained properly without the risk of losing money. Use network merchants for repairs and maintenance checks to ensure that the vehicles are running at their best.

Consider driving schools or defensive driving programs for your staff. This may be one of the more important things you consider if you have experienced an increase in the number of accidents occurring recently.

Invest in safe vehicles, too. Take the time to ensure the vehicles you purchase are energy efficient and best suited for overall protection and safety. This can protect your team while on the road.

Make sure that your team has the information and tools they need to be safe on the road. Be sure each driver has gasoline cards to properly manage the use of fuel and so that you can monitor their needs. This also provides you with a way to monitor progress and the overall health of the vehicle. Consider these tips to be the easiest way to maintain a vehicle even in unfamiliar driving experiences.

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If you have been wondering what light truck sales predictions are for the year 2011 you have to look no further than the increase in the requests for diesel cards for fleet fueling programs. It is amazing how accurately requests for diesel and gas cards can track the trends in vehicle purchases, particularly for the larger types of fleet purchases. As with most types of consumer goods, the more vehicles that are purchased by fleets the more the demand will be in private sales as well.

Diesel cards have become popular with fleet managers for several reasons. The first is that the new designs and technology associated with diesel cards, particularly the fleet cards, allows instantaneous tracking of all card use in real time online. A fleet manager can see what purchases are being made, odometer readings, average miles per gallon and even the time and grade of fuel purchased. This allows the greatest control when using these cards, even if you don’t want to preset spending limits, use limits or other control factors offered.

These cards may be used by each driver in a vehicle, in other words they are assigned to a specific vehicle, or they can be assigned to a particular driver. Either option works well for tracking, depending on the way in which your fleet and drivers are assigned and managed. Light diesel trucks may be assigned to one employee, which makes sense if the work requires the driver to carry tools, specialized equipment or to work on a specific type of job. For more general types of work different drivers may be assigned to different trucks, making the card with the truck a better option.

Diesel truck sales are predicted to continue to increase through 2011 and into the future for several different reasons. They are very practical to drive, which is why may fleets have converted from gasoline light trucks and cars to diesel models. Diesel engines tend to have a longer life with fewer maintenance and repair costs over the average life of the engine, which is an ideal combination for large fleets where maintenance and repairs can be a full time job.

With fewer issues these engines are much more dependable in all types of vehicles and also tend to hold their resale value. This means that fleet managers can retain the vehicles longer before trading them in or selling them and having to deal with the cost of replacement vehicles. With higher resale values and longer life it just makes good sense to move away from gasoline powered trucks and into diesel.

High costs of fuel are also driving sales of diesel trucks. While diesel is a bit more expensive than gasoline at the pumps there is higher fuel efficiency and better gas mileage in diesel engines. In other words it may cost a bit more at the pump but you will also drive further and longer on the same amount of fuel. The slight difference in price, along with the rebate you get when using diesel cards, more than makes up and difference in this area. New cleaner burning diesel grades and higher performance engines have also contributed to the efficiency of using diesel engines. Light trucks that have diesel engines are no longer the plain Jane trucks either. These trucks can be very basic and functional but they can also be luxury types of trucks complete with leather interiors, computer and navigational systems and all the extras you would expect in a top of the line vehicle.

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Sometimes people want to quit smoking cigarettes but have a really hard time because they don’t have anything to take its place. That is a big reason why nicotine patches don’t work for some people, and gum does not quite do the job either. Sometimes people just want to have something to smoke. Vaporizers are a new and popular distribution method for traditional tobacco and herbal based products. Long gone are the days of having to burn these products to achieve the medicinal and relaxing properties. Vaporizers are a great and healthier option for getting your “smoking” fix because combustion is not involved. This means the harmful aspects that are found in cigarette smoke does not need to be inhaled for the active ingredients of herbal or tobacco mixes to be consumed.

There are a couple of different options available when choosing a vaporizer, so keep these handy tips in mind.

1. Does the vaporizer operate by convection or conduction?

Convection based vaporizers use hot air to heat up herbal or tobacco products. This hot air causes the healthy aromas of herbs and tobacco products to become vaporized and pushed through a collection tube, sometimes into a collection balloon. A conduction based vaporizer works similarly, but instead of heating the ambient air there is a plate that heats up mixes to release the active ingredients into a gas form. Conduction based vaporizers might also have collection balloons.

2. Are you wanting to buy something that is cheap or expensive but with more features?

Cheaper models usually lack the most unique features and offer basic operation and single temperature range. Sometimes these cheaper options don’t have the best collection methods either so consumption is more difficult. The more expensive options have collection balloons and temperature control. Temperature control is really something worth considering since each herb’s active ingredients have different vaporizing temperatures. One temperature range might work well for a particular herb while another might yield no effect at all. Vaporizers with advanced collection methods are also worth considering since heating herbal mixes or tobacco products takes time. Not all of the active ingredients in these mixes can be released instantly so a collection balloon helps to maintain a uniform dosage.

3. Does your vaporizer need to have a cooling mechanism or not?

Some vaporizers come with the option to attach, or sometimes they even include, cooling mechanisms. If you were to smoke herbs or tobacco you would soon learn that the smoke released is aggravating to the throat and lungs. While vaporizers eliminate the smoke there is still the problem of having super heated vapors irritating your throat or lungs. The purpose of these cooling mechanisms is to cool the vapor before inhalation. There are a variety of ways to cool the vapors, but most common are attachments that allow the vapor to cool using either water or ice. Either of these will help minimize or eliminate the irritation from hot vapor inhalation.

You have many options when choosing your vaporizer. There are different heating elements, cooling mechanisms, and different collection mechanisms. Some are cheaper and some are expensive. While the more expensive options offer the most useful features, the cheaper options might suit your needs. For instance, if you are looking only to use a particular herbal mix for meditation or holistic medicine, you might only need a particular temperature range to effectively receive a proper dosage of active ingredients. Once you figure out the balance of your needs you will be able to accurately choose which vaporizer is right for you.

Tracy Arnold is a freelance writer for The Vapor Experts. The Vapor Experts was founded in 2005 with the goal of offering the finest available aromatherapy products on the market. On their website you can find vaporizers like Vapir Vaporizers.

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Are you still handing out cash to your drivers, making them cash in at the end of every day and turn in their receipts for fuel purchases? Or do you issue fuel cardsand then have to ask for receipts to ensure they aren’t using the cards for unauthorized purchases, such as buying snacks from a fueling station’s convenience store? These are a couple of the biggest risks of managing a fleet of vehicles.

Luckily, there is a better and easier way to do things. Fleet cards make a great tool to help you manage your fleet. In addition to creating detailed reports on the purchases made on each card, these cards enable you to set limits on the purchases made with the cards, in order to prevent unauthorized purchases.

One of the most common and most serious losses that fleet managers have to deal with is from unauthorized purchases. These can be as minor as not buying fuel from one of your preferred stations, thereby cutting into your budget by causing you to pay too much for fuel. Some business fuel cards offer discounts or rebates for bulk fuel purchases, so a driver who regularly fills their tank at a different station may be losing more than just a couple of pennies per gallon. You may also deal with issues of a more serious nature, such as your drivers using the company credit card to fill up the tank on their personal vehicles, or using their cash or company card to buy themselves lunch, cigarettes, or snacks.

Fleet cards all but eliminate these issues by allowing you to set purchase limits. Your limits can be as strict or as lenient as you like. For instance, you can simply limit purchases made on the card to fuel and maintenance. That way, if an employee tries to charge a convenience store purchase to the card, it will be denied.

If you want tighter restrictions, on the other hand, you can set a cap on how much a driver can spend per day on their card. Usually the idea is to assign a separate card to each vehicle, so that you can closely monitor the truck’s fuel consumption and keep tabs on maintenance. This enables you to ensure each vehicle is always in tiptop shape, of course, but it also allows you to set daily purchase limits for each individual vehicle. This means that you can give a truck that is usually assigned to the long-distance routes a higher purchase limit, while keeping the in-town trucks, or the more fuel-efficient vehicles, at a lower purchase limit.

There are other ways that fleet cards can save money and help you stick to your fuel budget, but one of the biggest advantages is the ability to better control your drivers’ purchases. No more cash unaccounted for, or mystery purchases on the company credit card. From now on, you know exactly what your drivers are buying, and have the ability to make sure that they don’t buy anything they are not supposed to.

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Properly winterizing your swimming pool is crucial to maintaining your swimming pool during the colder, winter months. Not winterizing properly can lead to damage such as a cracked pool, broken water pipes, and staining of the pool surface. We’ve put together a checklist of the proper steps for winterizing your in ground pool.

1. Check chemical levels

You need to do a complete chemical test kit to evaluate chlorine, bromine, pH and alkalinity. The information that came with your swimming pool will outline what levels each of the chemicals should be at when the pool isn’t in use. This varies depending on whether you have a concrete pool, pool with a vinyl liner, or a gunite pool. If you’re unsure, check with the installer, who can give you valuable guidance.

2. Purchase and use a winterization kit

There are complete winterization kits you can buy from your swimming pool supplies store. These will keep your swimming pool water clean and clear so you don’t have to use as much, if any, of a shock treatment when you open the pool in the spring.

3. Avoid floating dispensers

Although floating chlorine and bromine dispensers can be very handy, they aren’t recommended for use while your pool is inactive or winterized. Floating dispensers are meant to drift around the surface of the water. If you leave one in your pool when the water isn’t circulating or the surface is covered, the chemicals will accumulate in one spot, staining or damaging pool surfaces.

4. Lower the water level

You’ll want to partially drain your pool so that the water level is below the skimmer. This prohibits water circulation and prevents burst water pipes in your pool’s water circulation system. Water expands when it freezes, so having water in the lines can lead to burst pipes and an expensive repair.

5. Use a shop vac to clear all plumbing lines

Reversing a shop vac will allow you to blow water out of the plumbing lines. Once you’ve done this, be sure to properly plug the ends of every line. You can get threaded plugs or plugs with rubber o-rings or gaskets at your pool supplies shop or through your pool manufacturer or installer.

6. Drain the filter equipment, including the pump

Once again, getting water flushed out of the lines prevents freezing and/or stagnation of the water. This will make it easier to clean and open your pool in the spring.

7. Take down and store accessories

This includes removing any ladders, taking down the diving board, and cleaning and storing the solar cover if you use one. Don’t put away any of your accessories, including games or flotation devices, without cleaning them first. Dirt or dampness can promote mold and mildew that will be hard to clean next spring.

8. Use the right swimming pool cover

If you have a winter cover for your pool, be sure to use it to cover the entire surface of the swimming pool to keep debris out of the water. Depending on they type of pool cover you have, you may need to add a few pool pillows to the surface of the water in order to keep the pool cover afloat. You don’t want it drifting below the water’s surface, which would defeat the purpose of covering the pool.

9. Keep tabs during the winter months

Don’t assume your pool cover will be fine for months on end without checking it periodically. By simply checking to see that the cover is firmly in place and that the water level is correct once a week, you can avoid costly problems down the line.

Proper swimming pool winterization will ensure that opening up your pool in the spring will be easy and problem free. It also protects you against swimming pool damage that could be costly, so take the time to do it right. You can prolong the life of your pool considerably with proper winterization.

Vern Marker is a writer for a Houston Pool Builder as well as other home improvement companies. When Vern is not blogging or writing, he loves to travel the world. Follow him on Twitter@VernMarker.

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